1978 GS1000 Brat Bike Project: Fork Swap

[lmari]

Good Morning!

Now, I know this topic has been covered very heavily and I have done many searches etc on this topic so bear with me.... :worked_till_5am:

I was thinking of taking some mid 2000's GSXR1000 inverted forks and mounting them to my GS1000 (pic attached). There is lots of talk on front end swaps but I'm hoping to retain the stock spoked rims. So with that, I'm hoping somebody out there can shed some light on the following:

1. What parts/work is required to install the GSXR forks, brakes, and rotors while keeping the stock rims?
2. Since the GS1000 is 550lb, and the GSXR1000 is 400lb, any consideration need to be given to the fork settings for handling/stability?
3. I was going to replace the stock triple and handles anyway, with the fork conversion, is it better to get the stock GSXR one?
4. Rear brake setup, was wanting to do a newer GSXR rotor/caliper setup as well, advice on parts and considerations to keep stock spoked rim?

I'm not set on the GSXR forks so if an R1, Ninja, or other setup works better, I can go that direction to.

Any advice is very very very appreciated!

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you !

 

[lmari]

Sorry, I forgot to talk about the fork length. I understand that the newer GSXR forks are quite a bit shorter, is there a way to compensate for this or maybe another bike manufacturer like a set of 954RR forks that are longer?

 

[salty_monk]

It's not a straight forwarder swap & even less so if you want to use the original hub / wheel. The Head bearings will fit but you need different steerer stops/gauge mounts etc.
You will need custom bearings for the hub most likely to make the newer axle fit as well as custom turned spacers - not easy unless you have a machine shop at your disposal!

The upside down forks are quite short. I did GSXR 1100 Right side up forks with Cartridge emulators on a 750 it wasn't easy even with the stock GSXR wheel.

What's wrong with the stock fork? Any stiffness advantage you get from a GSXR fork will likely be lost in the spoked wheel or you just move the flex to the frame.

 

[loud et]

Paint and polish with some well done mods and that will be a great bike.
Oh, and that mint oem seat. Haha
Seriously , good luck with your project.
I hope to make a 1000 my next bike.

 

[lmari]

Haha thanks for the kind words, I know that seat is incredible...

The inverted forks were mainly a styling cue but to me, the spoked rims are far more classic and I want to retain them. That said, I will be changing the springs in the forks and replacing the rear shocks.

Has anybody tried larger rear shocks to get a little more seat pan clearance over the rear tire? I was thinking 13.5" instead of the stock 13".

 

[salty_monk]

I use 13.5" rear S Works Street trackers. Several people do use a 13.5" or even a 14"

You will need to add length to your side stand. I think you can see the block under mine in this picture.

For the ultimate using your stock forks fit a straight weight spring from Sonic & some cartridge emulators. Racetech or MikesXS with an adapter. That's what I have in my forks (I have 1100E fork legs fitted)

 

[Big T]

Another issue is that the GSXR calipers won't work with the spoke wheel, as there is not enough offset between the spokes and the caliper

I went with a GSX front end, bolted right up, new stops, but I'm using the 17" wheels